The next morning, Twilight lay on her bed, her feet waving in the air behind her. She was using her laptop to browse various websites, looking for job opportunities. She’d found a few summer jobs in Canterlot, but none of them were especially exciting.

She had ended up expanding her search to other cities, and even other states. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of moving away for a little while.

Some jobs looked doable for her. Specifically the ones asking for technicians in various fields. She could do that no problem. But one ad stood out and really caught her interest, though.

MODEL WANTED (FREE FLIGHT TO MIAMI)

It wasn’t the first ad for a model Twilight had come across. And initially, she had thought that they weren’t really for her. And frankly, the all caps header grated on her. But that free flight all the way to Miami was enticing. She wanted to get away, to get a chance to be independent, and what better way to do that than to go to another city, far from here with different people and new things to see and do.

And who was to say that Twilight couldn’t do a bit of modeling for a while?

A year or two ago, she wouldn’t even have entertained the thought. But recently, her new friends had kept insisting that she was attractive — albeit sometimes amended with ‘in a dorky sort-of way.’

Not to mention the many months she spent dating Timber. She didn’t exactly have the kind of confidence that Rainbow or Rarity might have, but she wasn’t the same shy girl who transfered to CHS last year.

This could be a really interesting experience for her. A challenge which the other job options she had seen so far didn’t offer. She wanted to explore outside her comfort zone, so why not try for a job that was outside her field of expertise?

She clicked on the link to see what exactly this would entail. She unconsciously bit her lip as she read.

The ad didn’t give her much information, opting to give her an email address she could contact for the details.

She brought up her email in a new tab, and composed a simple message asking for more information. She stared at the unsent email for a few seconds, wondering if maybe she should just go for one of those technician jobs.

With a surge of determination and a shake of her head, she hit the send button. Afterwards, she thought about how she would go about composing an application email.

“What do you think, Spike?” she asked, causing her dog to look up from his basket. “Could I make it as a model?”

Spike merely blinked a few times, then returned to his nap.

Twilight giggled. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to send some pictures and see if I get a response.” She added as she navigated to her ‘Selfies’ folder on her laptop.

She didn’t have very many. She’d only started taking selfies after she started hanging out with the girls. And even then, she didn’t take many at all.

She managed to find a couple she liked, but decided she needed a few more. Luckily, she knew someone who would have plenty of pictures of her. She switched over to Discord and typed a quick message to Sunset.

Sparky Today at 11:26
Hey, I need some good pictures of myself, can you send me a few?

As usual, Sunset responded within a minute.

TheShimmer Today at 11:26am
Sure thing, Twi. Just gimme a minute.

Twilight looked back at the pictures she’d selected so far. One was a simple selfie of her at the beach, in the swimsuit that everyone seemed to only be able to describe as ‘cute’ — and not necessarily in a complementary way.

She also realized that her usual look might not be what they were looking for, and as such had picked out a rare picture of herself with her hair down, and wearing contacts instead of her glasses.

She switched back to Discord to see a stream of pictures of herself. Some were just of her, a few had some of her other friends, and a few showed Sunset as well, her arms visibly stretched to take the selfie.

TheShimmer Today at 11:29am
What do you need these for, anyway?

Twilight smiled mischievously.

Sparky Today at 11:30am
It’s a secret.

TheShimmer Today at 11:30am
Oh? Well, if you’re looking for good pics, I’d recommend the last one. You look super cute in it.

Twilight blushed at the compliment, and felt her confidence in this decision skyrocket.

The picture in question was one Sunset took of her when they were eating ice cream at a theme park. The girls had all split up to different attractions, but Sunset had stuck with Twilight the whole time.

In the picture, Twilight was smiling and holding her sundae glass in hand. The thing that really made this picture stand out was how happy she had felt in that moment, and that was reflected in her smile.

With her brief reminiscing over, and a quick ‘thank you’ send to Sunset, Twilight collected the three pictures she’d decided on and sent them along with some basic info about herself.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting for an answer.

Twilight had never been to Miami. It never seemed like the most appealing city, but even so, the idea of going there, of living there for a few months and being independent, doing whatever she wanted was an enticing one.

She noticed a new message from Sunset pop up on her screen.

TheShimmer Today at 11:34
Are you doing anything later? I’d love to meet up for lunch if you’re free.

She smiled as she typed out her reply.

Sparky Today at 11:36
Yeah, just let me know when and where.

She then spent a few minutes looking up various activities and information about Miami. She always wanted to know as much as she could about a town or city before traveling there. In particular, she always wanted to find any museums or particular attractions she might like.

Before she knew it, half an hour had passed, and more importantly, she’d gotten a reply from the job offer. She held her breath as she opened the message, then gasped.

“I’m going to Miami…” Twilight whispered in awe, a smile slowly spreading over her features.

Twilight’s flight would be in only a few days time. In her excitement, she had already started planning out what to take with her to Miami.

She had not yet gotten to the part where she told her parents or her friends. It’d be interesting to see how they reacted to her taking a modeling job of all things. Her mom would probably call the whole thing ‘nonsense’ and ask why she didn’t take a job relating to her strengths.

Sometimes, she could be so oblivious to the subtle backhanded insults her words held.

As for her friends, she’d probably never hear the end of it from Rarity if she took any kind of modeling job that wasn’t with her. Not to mention the teasing she’d undoubtedly get from Rainbow.

Twilight sighed, rubbing her temples.

Of course, if she just told everyone she was going to work as a technician for some company based in Miami, none of them would even question it. Maybe Sunset or Twilight’s father might ask for more details, though it shouldn’t be too difficult to just make those up.

She grabbed her notebook and started brainstorming the details of a potential cover story.

She started by picking out a plausible sounding name for a small company, after ensuring a quick internet search didn’t bring up anything that could give her cover away. She then added a short description of the company, using as many tech-y words and phrases as she could, hoping to discourage her somewhat-old-fashioned parents from asking too many questions about it.

Finally, she wrote down her job title as ‘Laboratory technician’ and listed a few responsibilities for the job.

She knew it wouldn’t fool Sunset, though. Although, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that she could let her in on the truth. It would help to have someone she could talk to about it, anyway.

Fifteen minutes later, Twilight had enough to work with to be able to confidently tell everyone her ‘plans’ for the summer. She made her way downstairs to where her parents were watching TV.

“Hey, I have something to tell you,” Twilight said, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement, and grabbing her parents’ attention. “So, you know how most of my friends have plans for the summer?” Both adults nodded. “Well, I have some plans now, too. I decided to get a summer job at a small company in Miami. They even offered to pay for my flight, and help me get situated there.”

“Miami?!” Twilight’s mother exclaimed. “But that’s so far away!”

“True,” Twilight said slowly. “But that’s part of what I like about it. It gives me a chance to be more independent. I’m legally an adult now, and I really want to explore a bit. Y’know, leave my comfort zone for a couple of months.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, sweetie?” Velvet asked.

Twilight shrugged. “I know that I’d learn a lot from the experience.”

“Well, I would’ve preferred it if you were a bit closer to home,” Velvet sighed. “But it’s clear that you’re excited about this. When will you be leaving?”

“Weeell…” Twilight cringed in advance. “I know it’s really fast, but… Tuesday,” she squeaked.

“Tuesday?!” her mother exclaimed. “You’re leaving before you even get a chance to see Cadance and your brother?”

Twilight’s hand met her face as she groaned. “I forgot about that. And I’ve already made all the arrangements.” She bit her lip. “I should be back before they leave again, though, so I’ll still be able to spend some time with them.”

“Timing issues aside, I think this is a great idea, Twilight,” Night Light said.

“Well, of course,” Velvet said, turning to look at her husband. “But I’m sure she could’ve found something similar that didn’t involve her flying halfway across the country.” She sighed, then glanced at Twilight. “How is the pay?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s probably decent. The pay isn’t really what I care about. It’s the experience I’m after.” Come to think of it, she hadn’t found out what her pay would be like. Models tended to get payed a lot though, right? Or maybe that was just at the high end.

“That’s partially true,” Night Light cut in. “Having some practical experience, especially with working in a team, can be a huge help when applying for a job. Anything you can put on your CV is a good thing at your age.”

Twilight felt a tinge of nervousness as she thought about that flaw in her plan. No matter how well she managed to convince her parents, she couldn’t put a fake company on her CV. She’d just have to make sure they didn’t get a chance to see it, if it came to that.

“With her grades, I don’t think she’ll have to worry about that,” Velvet retorted.

“You can never be too sure about that, dear,” said Night Light.

Twilight decided to excuse herself from the conversation. The longer she lingered, the more questions she’d have to answer, after all.

“Okay, I’m gonna head out and spend some time with Sunset, now.”

Her parents returned their attention back to her. “Oh? Alright, sweetie,” Velvet said.

“Have fun,” Night Light added.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as she left the living room. Though she could still faintly hear her mother wondering out loud about whether Twilight could have picked something better.

She stepped out into the warm summer breeze and took out her phone. Sunset had sent her a message with the diner she’d picked out for them. It was only a few minutes away, so she started to head in its direction.

Twilight had already decided to tell Sunset the truth about her plans, even without having to put much thought into it. Partially because she knew she couldn’t simply confuse her with science-y words like she could with the others. But more importantly, because she knew she could trust her to keep it secret, and that she wouldn’t make fun of her for it or anything like that. In fact, she’d probably be really encouraging about it. She might even ask to see some of the pictures that Twilight would be in.

When the diner came into view around a corner, Twilight could see her redheaded friend through the windows.

She smiled and hurried inside.

“Hi, Sunset.”

Sunset looked up from her coffee. “Hey, Sparky.”

Twilight sat down opposite her friend, and Sunset slid another cup of coffee towards her.

“I ordered your usual. I hope you don’t mind,” she said.

“Not at all. Thanks.” Twilight took a sip from the delicious beverage. “So, were you having a slow day?”

Sunset shrugged. “Pretty much. Just playing some games. Enjoying my day off work.” She paused in though and took a sip of her drink. “What about you?”

Twilight leaned forward, smiling excitedly. “I got a job for the summer. And what’s more, the job is in Miami!”

Sunset’s smile wilted. “Oh, so you’re going away too, huh?”

Twilight, realizing her faux pas, reached a hand over to lay it on Sunset’s.

“Sorry, I didn’t really think about it that way. I just got really excited for myself. I applied for the job without really considering everything. I even forgot that Cadance and Shining would be coming next week, and now I won’t see them until I come back in a couple of months.”

Sunset smiled, turning her hand over to hold Twilight’s in return. “Nah, it’s fine. This sounds like a pretty good opportunity, and I’m happy for you. Besides, I’m gonna be busy with work most days,” She blushed, looking down at her coffee. “I am gonna really miss you, though.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna miss you, too.” Twilight replied with a sad smile.

Sunset gave Twilight’s hand a squeeze, then released it. “So, what’s the job, anyway?” she perked up.

Twilight felt her cheeks heating up. She picked up her coffee cup in a vain hope to hide her embarrassment. “Modeling,” she muttered into the beverage.

“Really?” Sunset asked, eyebrows raised. “I’m surprised you’d go for that kind of thing.”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I thought it’d be good for me to leave my comfort zone a little.”

Sunset leaned back in her seat, taking another sip of coffee. “Well, I’m proud of you, Sparky. I know that this is a really big step for you.”

Twilight blushed. “Thanks, Sunset. To be honest, I’m actually a little surprised I got the job. I wasn’t sure if I was model material.”

“Well, if they’re looking for a ‘sexy librarian’ look then there's no one better,” Sunset winked. “Oh! That’s what the pictures were for, wasn’t it?” she added, her eyes widening at the realization.

Twilight nodded. “Oh, and by the way, if anyone asks, I’m actually going to be working as a lab technician at a small company that you can’t quite remember the name of.” Twilight added with a nervous smile.

“Wait, you’re lying about what you’re going to be doing over the summer?” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Are you embarrassed about doing this?”

Twilight rubbed her shoulder. “Well, Yeah. You know how I get as soon as someone points a camera at me. Plus, I’m hoping to avoid Rarity’s wrath, if she found out I modeled for someone else.”

Sunset giggled. “Won’t she just find out from a fashion magazine or something?”

Twilight blushed. “I doubt they’d put me in any big name magazine or anything. And, if she does find out, then, uh… it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?” she added with a sheepish smile.

“Okay, Sparky,” Sunset chuckled. “What about your parents and brother? Do they know?”

Twilight shook her head. “My mom can be really overbearing at times. I don’t really want to know how what she’d say about me doing this when I could be doing something that she sees as ‘better’ and ‘more dignified,’” Twilight did a very inaccurate and uncomplimentary impression of her mother’s voice.

“Alright then. I won’t tell anyone.” Sunset agreed. “But I’m not letting you off that easy. If I’m going to keep this secret for you, I at least want to see some of the photos you’re in.” She grinned.

Called it, Twilight thought. “Sure thing, Sunset.”

Getting off the plane felt nerve wracking. The first thing Twilight noticed was how warm it was. Even as nighttime started to roll around, the air in Miami still was excessively hot.

She had used her time on the plane to reread the email she’d received that explained the job in detail.

After the initial excitement of applying for the job had worn off, she’d realized that she hadn’t actually read the whole thing. In her nervous excitement at the time, she’d sent her application on a bit of an impulse, not truly expecting anything to come of it.

In the following days before her flight, a few nagging suspicions had entered her mind, and she’d dreaded taking a closer look at exactly what she’d agreed to.

“I’m an idiot,” Twilight whispered to herself as she entered the baggage pickup area and quickly identified her suitcase. “An absolute fucking idiot.”

She’d narrowly avoided an anxiety attack on the plane after finding out exactly what she’d be doing over the next couple of months. Assuming she stayed, which she didn’t necessarily have to. She hadn’t signed a contract or anything, yet, so if she wanted to go right back home tomorrow, it should be doable. Albeit very embarrassing.

Hey mister, thanks for giving me this job and paying for my flight all the way here. Oh, by the way, I’m a dummy and thought this was something else, so can you buy me a plane ticket back home first thing in the morning? Thanks.

She shook her head, continuing to chide herself under her breath. As she approached the arrivals hall, Twilight felt her nerves increase drastically.

She walked past a line of people holding signs with various names scribbled on them, searching for her own.

Twilight Sparkle

There it was. Twilight hesitated briefly before walking up to the man holding the sign. She wasn’t too surprised to see that he was only a few years older than her.

“Uhm, hi! I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she pointed at the sign to emphasize her point.

The man stuck his hand out to shake hers. “Nice to meet you. Name’s Broad Strokes.”

Twilight shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Broad. So you’re uh, my new a-agent, right?” He seemed pretty nice, so far, at least.

“That’s right. C’mon, I’ll drive you to your new place, and you can get settled in and meet the other girls.” He started off towards the exit, and Twilight quickly moved to follow him.

“The other girls?” She asked, thinking back to the email containing the description. “You mean the ones I’ll be sharing the house with?”

Broad nodded. “You’ll be renting with me and a few other girls like yourself. It’s a little cramped, but that keeps the rent low. You get access to a shared bathroom and kitchen, and you’ll be sharing a room with one of the other girls. Oh, you’re not allergic to dogs, are you?” he glanced sideways at her.

“No, I actually have a dog back home.” Twilight said.

“Cool, we have a dog at the house, too. Her name’s Olive. I’m sure you’ll love her.” Broad smiled. “So, as your agent, I’ll help you get the paperwork and stuff out of the way, then I’ll help you get some roles and stuff. We’ll need to make a profile for you with some general information, as well as what you’re willing to do and so on. If you ever need to ask a question, go right ahead. The other girls you’ll be staying with have been doing this for a little while, so they can help you get started, too.”

“R-right,” Twilight stuttered. She cleared her throat and pushed herself to add to the conversation. “So, uhm… W-when do I start?”

“Day after tomorrow at the earliest,” Broad replied. “I don’t want to rush you straight into things. Plus, you need to at least get an STI test before you start.”

Twilight nodded. “O-okay.”

Broad stopped in front of a pretty new looking car, unlocking it remotely. Twilight wasn’t knowledgeable enough about cars to know its model, but it looked pretty expensive.

Broad loaded the suitcase in the backseat and Twilight got into the passenger seat.

Twilight spent the car ride trying to work up the courage to confess her mistake to Broad. All it would take was a few sentences, and she could forget about this whole mess.

But the more she tried to bring it up, the more she felt her hands start to shake, and her heartbeat quicken. Feeling the early warning signs of an anxiety attack, she decided to tell him later, rather than risk breaking down here and now.

“You alright?” Broad asked, glancing at her while keeping most of his focus on the road.

“Yeah,” Twilight said, then cleared her throat at how coarse she sounded. “It’s just some nerves, is all.” She smiled reassuringly.

Broad nodded, then simply turned up the radio.

Before long, they stopped outside a plain, sizable house. There wasn’t much in the immediate vicinity except for similar looking houses along the street, and palm trees. Plenty of palm trees.

Broad pulled out Twilight’s suitcase. “Alright, this is it.”

Twilight followed him inside the house. The door led straight into the living room of the house, with a TV, coffee table and a large L shaped sofa in the corner. There were a few girls hanging around on the sofa, along with a black furred chihuahua, who was presumably Olive.

“Hey, girls,” Broad said, interrupting their conversation. “Meet your new house mate.”

Olive leaped off the sofa and started to sniff at Twilight’s shoes, her tail wagging in excitement.

Twilight smiled nervously at the chorus of greetings from the others. “Hello. My name is Twilight. It’s nice to meet you all.”

She then bend down to pet Olive. “Hello there Olive. She can probably smell my own dog on my clothes,” she added, looking up at Broad.

Broad chuckled. “Give the girl some space, Olive. I need to show her around the house.”

Twilight stood back up and followed him down the hallway. Broad gave her a quick tour of the house.

In this part of the hallway were four doors, all open to reveal messy bedrooms. Three of them had two beds each, and the last was slightly smaller and had only one bed.

Twilight took her suitcase and entered the one Broad had pointed out as hers. Once inside, she found another girl lying on one of the beds, with a laptop on her lap.

“Oh, hello,” Twilight greeted. “I’m your new roommate, Twilight.”

The girl had messy, ginger hair with a few blond highlights in it. She was wearing a purple crop top and pink panties. Twilight blushed slightly at the overly casual attire.

“Nice to meet you, Twilight,” she said in a deep, feminine voice. “You can call me Adagio.”

Twilight sat down on the bed that had been reserved for her and sighed, thinking back on the mess she’d gotten herself into, and wondering what she should do about it. A quick glance at her phone revealed that it was already late.

I may as well stay the night and try to resolve this whole thing tomorrow.

She looked around the spartan room. There was barely any furniture apart from the beds. There was a full length mirror leaning against one wall, and a couple of nightstands.

Looking over to Adagio’s side of the room, she saw a suitcase similar to her own on the floor, open and used as a makeshift dresser.

She followed suit and laid her suitcase at the foot of her bed, before taking out a pair of pajamas.

“I’m gonna change into my pajamas real quick,” Twilight said.

Adagio didn't look up from her laptop. “Sure, make yourself at home.”

Twilight fidgeted for a bit, her unspoken request being firmly ignored. She glanced between Adagio and the door. “I’m just gonna close this, then,” she said softly, pushing the door closed.

She wasn’t exactly comfortable with changing clothes in front of strangers, but Adagio seemed distracted enough.

However, just as Twilight took off her blouse, Adagio looked up at her with a smirk. “So, where are you from?”

Twilight blushed. “Ah, I’m from C-Canterlot.” She inwardly scolded herself for stuttering.

“Never heard of it,” Adagio said while Twilight hastily put on her pajama top.

“Not really surprising. It’s pretty small, for a city.” Twilight shakily pulled down her trousers, turning away shyly.

Adagio followed the movement with her eyes. “Girl, you’re gonna need better clothes if you’re living here. It might be alright at night, but during the day, the summer sun will cook you alive,” she chuckled.

Twilight laughed nervously with her. “Yeah, I kinda guessed as much.” She sat down on the bed and hastily pulled her pajama bottoms on.

“I could go with you to a nearby mall tomorrow, if you want,” Adagio offered.

Twilight nodded energetically. “That would be a great help!” She bit her lip. “Although actually, I’m not really sure if I’m gonna stay.”

“Oh?” Adagio quirked an eyebrow at her.

Twilight nodded, her hands fidgeting. “To be honest, I don’t think I’m really cut out for…”

“Porn?” Adagio finished helpfully.

Twilight nodded.

“If you don’t think you’re cut out for it, then why are you here?”

Twilight looked away, fidgeting her thumbs. “I read the ad and kinda just assumed this was a modeling job. I realized my mistake while I was on the flight here and…” she trailed off, shrugging.

She looked back up at Adagio, waiting for her reaction.

After a moment of silence, Adagio burst into laughter.

Twilight sat in ashamed silence, waiting for the other girl to settle down. Although, deep down, she couldn’t help but see the silliness in her situation, too.

“Damn, that is priceless,” Adagio said, once she calmed down. “Seriously though, if you want to go back, all you have to do is tell Broad you made a mistake. He won’t get mad or anything. Heck, he’ll probably feel just as embarrassed about the situation as you do.”

Twilight nodded wordlessly. She felt a wave of comfort at hearing this, though surprisingly, she still felt reluctant to actually go and talk to Broad. And it wasn’t just because she was embarrassed about how she got here.

Twilight looked up at Adagio curiously. “So… What’s it like? The job, I mean?” she finally asked.

Adagio raised an eyebrow at her, smiling. “You get used to it. I mean, really, the sex quickly becomes work and little else. You show up, do what you’re told, then the guy gets on top of you and does his thing while you make some cute noises until it’s over, then you leave with a couple hundred bucks in your pocket.”

Twilight felt herself blushing furiously. “That makes it sound kinda mundane.”

Adagio laughed. “Hey, don’t get me wrong, there’s more to it than that. Shooting takes hours at a time, and it is tiring work. But it’s still good fun, and it pays well. So long as you don’t blow all the money on drugs or something.”

Twilight nodded. “That makes sense. I guess. But what about… you know. STI’s and pregnancy and stuff.”

“That’s rarely a problem. The guys usually don’t actually cum inside, so pregnancy isn’t an issue unless you’re doing cream pie’s or something. And we get tested regularly for STI’s, so they don’t spread that much.”

Twilight nodded. “Right. That makes sense.”

Adagio yawned and stretched, then laid her laptop on the bed. “I’m gonna go lounge in the living room with the other girls. Feel free to join us.”

She stood up and left, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts.

Twilight stewed in her own conflicted thoughts while she unpacked some of her things. Half of her mind was telling her to put everything back in the suitcase, and just talk to Broad and get it over with. The other half kept telling her that maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea, and that she could at least give it a chance.

She decided to take Adagio up on her offer and followed her to the living room. The girls she had greeted earlier were still there, along with Adagio, though Broad was now absent. Apparently, they’d ordered a pizza, a few boxes of which were sat on the coffee table.

“Hey, Twi,” one of the girls waved her over. “Come eat with us.”

“Oh, uhm. Thanks,” Twilight said, taking a seat on the edge of the couch and picking up a slice for herself. Looking at the food, she realized that she hadn’t eaten anything in a while. She was probably hungry, but couldn’t tell because of the knot of nervousness in her stomach.

As soon as she had taken her seat, Olive crawled into her lap, tail wagging happily.

Twilight held the pizza slice out of reach of the dog. “I didn’t get your names earlier,” she said, looking up at the other girls.

“I’m River Charm,” the girl who had waved her over answered, before pointing to the others in turn. “That’s Scarlet and Ocean. And you already met Adagio. Starry’s out tonight, so you’ll probably meet her tomorrow.”

Twilight nodded, smiling awkwardly at the girls.

River had long blond locks, and a cheerful demeanor that reminded her of of friends back home. Ocean, who was sitting next to River, had a blond pixie cut, and a tattoo on her arm, half covered by her t-shirt.

On the other side of the sofa, Adagio and Scarlet fought over who would have more space to spread out over the sofa. Scarlet had jet-black hair and a piercing on her eyebrow.

“How old are you?” Scarlet asked, giving her a scrutinizing look.

“Eighteen,” Twilight replied, taking a bite of her pizza despite her lack of appetite.

“Are you sure?” Scarlet continued, grinning teasingly. “You look more like sixteen, if you ask me.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Twilight pouted. Then a thought struck her and her eyes widened. “T-that’s not too young, right? I mean, I know it’s legal age and all, but… How old are all of you? I mean, i-if you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

“Don’t worry,” River said, “Ocean and I are eighteen, too.”

Adagio looked up with a smirk. “I’m nineteen. And granny here is twenty-one,” she added, pointing at Scarlet.

“Fuck you,” Scarlet retorted, tossing a pillow at the giggling Adagio.

“Hey, watch the food!” Adagio exclaimed, barely managing to save her pizza slice from the attack.

“So,” Twilight started hesitantly. “What’s the, uh… What’s the job like?”

“You get paid butt loads of money for having sex with hot guys. What’s not to like?” Ocean replied with a shrug. “I mean, you like sex, right?”

Twilight squirmed. “Yeah, I guess.” She took a small bite of her slice.

“What do you mean by 'I guess'?” River asked.

“It’s not that I don’t like… sex. I mean, I had a boyfriend until recently, but I just don’t know how I’d feel about sleeping with strangers.”

Adagio made a face. “Urh, don’t call it that. You’re here to fuck dudes, not sleep with them.”

The girls chuckled.

“That doesn’t really reassure me at all,” Twilight said patiently.

Adagio shrugged, grinning. “Wasn’t meant to.”

“I get what you mean, Twi,” River said. “This job isn’t for everyone, but if you can get past those concerns, it can be loads of fun. Plus, you get paid a lot, you don’t have to work much unless you choose to. And best of all is the sheer freedom of being here.”

Twilight nodded. “But isn’t it weird to think that guys would be watching your videos and…. Y’know?” she fidgeted for a moment, then took another bite, mostly just to occupy herself.

“Yeah, that’s one of those concerns I mentioned,” River replied. “It is super weird at first, but after a while, you get used to it.”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like you have to watch them while they’re doing their stuff or anything,” Scarlet added.

Ocean nodded, speaking up. “And once you have gotten used to it, all the guys sending you messages about how hot you are actually gets pretty empowering. Except for the creepy ones, that is.”

Twilight nodded. “I guess I can see what you mean by that. I haven’t exactly been called ‘hot’ all that often. I can see how that would feel pretty good.” She smiled at the thought.

“So you’re pretty inexperienced, huh?” Adagio asked, grinning at her from her place on the sofa.

“Well,” Twilight squirmed, fidgeting with her half eaten pizza slice. “I’ve only been with one guy, but I’ve read plenty of books…” As soon as the words left her mouth, Twilight wondered why she uttered them.

She placed the rest of her slice on the coffee table, and diverted more of her attention to petting Olive. Hopefully, petting the chihuahua would provide similar stress relief as petting Spike usually did for her.

Scarlet snickered. “Books, huh? Please, do tell,” she added in a flirtatious voice.

“I-it’s mostly books about, like, kink, and stuff,” Twilight replied, her voice getting quieter with each word.

“It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?” River chuckled.

“Actually,” Twilight perked up, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Studies have shown that kinky people don’t trend towards any particular personality trait, or background. So, they’re no more likely to be introverted or shy than a ‘normal’ person.” She felt herself blushing, even as she finished her sentence.

“My, my,” Adagio cooed in a deep voice. “I do believe we have a nervous, nerdy little submissive in the house.”

Twilight worked her jaw, trying to respond, but no words came out. It didn’t help that she could feel her cheeks burning.

Adagio draped herself sensuously over her corner of the sofa. “And what luck, she just so happens to be sharing a room with moi.”

Scarlet hit Adagio on the leg. “Oh, cut it out, Dagi. You’re acting like a bitch in heat.”

Adagio turned to Scarlet with a smirk. “Oh, come now, Scarlet. I’m only having a bit of fun with the fresh meat.”

Twilight felt herself squirm under Adagio’s gaze. At the same time, she couldn’t help but admire the redhead's clear confidence in both her posture and her words.

River put a comforting hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Well, don’t!” she snapped.

Adagio glared at her for a moment, then glanced over at Twilight. She crossed her arms and looked away. “Sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Hah! The bitch can learn,” Scarlet cheered triumphantly, receiving a kick from Adagio.

The other girls laughed at their exchange. Twilight joined in, though on the inside she felt a confusing, tumultuous mix of emotions. She hugged Olive closer to herself, hoping the others wouldn’t notice how much her hands were shaking.

“So, what’s your porn name gonna be?” Ocean asked.

“What?” Twilight blinked. She’d tried to put off thinking about whether she wanted to stay or not, but in an instant that question rushed back to the front of her mind. While she still felt like a nervous wreck, talking to these girls had already made this whole thing seem considerably less scary. “I haven’t really put any thought into it.”

“Not to worry,” River piped up. “We can totally help you out with that. What was your full name, again?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

“Okay, soo… I’m thinking Sparky something,” River snapped her fingers as she looked out into the distance. “What’s something you really like?”

Twilight’s mind went blank at the question. “Uhh. Well, I quite like physics, astronomy and engineering. Just science in general really.”

“Hmm,” River stared at her in thought. “Sparky Star, maybe? Doesn’t quite work though. Oh, I know! Sparky Selene? Y’know, like the moon goddess.”

“That’s a pretty good one,” Ocean nodded.

“Yeah,” Twilight smiled. “I actually quite like that.”

“Fantastic!” River beamed with pride.

“So, are you excited to start the job?” Ocean nudged her shoulder playfully.

“I-” Twilight shuffled her legs, pulling them up onto the sofa. She wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t sure whether it was nervousness, or excitement that she felt. Then Sunset’s words came to the forefront of her mind.

It really was hard. But I got through it. And I came out the other end stronger for it.

Well, Twilight thought to herself. I did want to test myself with the a modeling job, and getting out of my comfort zone… this certainly would do that. Maybe it’s worth a try?

“Yes, I am,” she said with a newfound confidence in her voice. A confidence that quickly collided with a the twisting knot in her stomach. “But I’m also really nervous about it,” she added, her confident smile turning lopsided.

“Oh, you’ll get over that pretty quick,” Scarlet said with a chuckle. “Only so many times you can suck dick on camera before it becomes business as usual.”

“R-right,” Twilight fidgeted. She picked up her slice of pizza again, nibbling on it while the other girls went on to talk about other things.

Twilight returned to her new bedroom a little while later. After listening to the others talk about their time here, she was feeling confident that she could do this. There was still a nervous pit in her stomach, but a small part of her pointed out that finally being able to overcome this nervousness would be incredibly good for her.

She noticed her phone lying on her bed and instinctively checked to see if she had any notifications.

Sunset had messaged her about an hour ago, while she’d been talking with the girls.

TheShimmer Today at 8:42pm
How was your trip? You all settled in okay?

Twilight smiled, then bit her lip. Should she tell Sunset? She knew her best friend wouldn’t make fun of her, or gossip about it. She’d already trusted her with what she had thought was the truth, after all.

Sparky Today at 9:56pm
Pretty good. I met some of the girls I’ll be staying with. They seem nice, but I already know I’m gonna miss you girls.

Maybe someday she could tell her, but not now. Not yet.

She collapsed onto her pillow. She was exhausted from the stress of travel, meeting new people, and of course, trying to decide on her future as a potential pornstar.

And I thought that picking out universities and deciding on a major had been difficult.

Author's Note

So, that's chapter 2!

Now we can really start to see how the story is shaping up. Although with that said, it is still going to be slow paced so we won't get to the "good stuff" for a couple chapters yet

I also feel like I should mention that I don't have any experience with the porn industry myself. I did plenty of research (no not that, get your mind out of the gutter) so my portrayal of this corner of the industry us hopefully close to real life, but almost certainly not accurate.